French Hainaut
French Hainaut is one of two areas in France that form the département du Nord, the eastern part. It corresponds roughly with the Arrondissement of Avesnes-sur-Helpe, Arrondissement of Cambrai and Arrondissement of Valenciennes.
Until the 17th century it was an integral part of the County of Hainaut, ruled by the Burgundians and later the Habsburgs. In a series of wars between France and Spain, this southern part of Hainaut was conquered by France, together with the adjacent smaller Cambrésis or the Bishopric of Cambrai to the south-west, loosely associated with it, and the similar area to these two combined in the west, southern Flanders, which borders on the English Channel. Together these formed the French province of Flandre immediately before the French Revolution, which became the current Nord département.
, with its five départements, colored according to the historical provinces as they existed until 1790. Apart from the combination mentioned above in the text, tiny amounts of Artois and Picardy contributed to the North départements, beyond Cambrésis.
